REVIEW article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Nuclear Energy
This article is part of the Research TopicAI and Nuclear Energy for the Innovation EconomyView all articles
The AI-Energy Nexus
Provisionally accepted
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, United States
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The pervasive integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creating unprecedented demands on global energy infrastructure, driving a growing imbalance between burgeoning needs and existing, often aging, supply networks. As energy demand from data centers is projected to triple by 2028 — potentially capturing up to 12 percent of total U.S. national electricity consumption — this paper defines the magnitude of the AI-Energy Nexus. We propose a physically grounded policy framework that establishes the necessity of the Atomic Energy Transition. Our analysis highlights the critical role of new nuclear generation as the only viable pathway, leveraging its vast energy density and innovative fuel breeding capacity. The paper concludes by exploring how AI itself can serve as an essential catalyst for this transition, utilizing its power to enable resource allocation and streamline reactor deployment, ensuring the long-term viability of technological growth.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, Energy, Nuclear Power, grid edge, Energy Policy, energy economics
Received: 24 Aug 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pekny, Ribeiro, Kim and Tsoukalas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joseph Pekny
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